Monday, March 27, 2006

The New Mutants Graphic Novel, The New Mutants # 1-3, The Uncanny X-Men # 167

I won't be reading a whole lot outside of the main X-Men books, but these are quite integral to the overall X-Men story, so here they are. Xavier, while believing the X-Men dead, has decided at last to to rescue and train new Mutants. He does not intend this Mutants to be like the X-Men. These Mutants are going to be students, not super-heroes.

So enter Cannonball, Karma, Mirage, Sunspot, and Wolfsbane. A interesting bunch, each one diverse and able to stand on their own two feet, but as a whole, make up an interesting team.

After an encounter with Donald Pierce, the New Mutants then come face-to-face with Sentinels and a Brood. This Brood, as it turns out, has gone after the Professor. After all this, the X-Men come back and kick the New Mutants' ass.

There are some great moments here, including the New Mutants handling the Sentinels, the X-Men cracking down on the New Mutants, and the face-off with the Brood. Like I said, the characters each bring their own story to the table, allowing for a diverse cast. Even Xavier, in his usual (and getting old) routine of "the X-Men are dead AGAIN!" is fairly well developed. He gets to walk by the end of the story!

I have one major gripe, though. Why in the world does every Claremont has a Native American, they hate "whites?" I mean, maybe it was just the way they ALL WERE back then, but come on . . . I know three Native Americans and none of them hate us like Danielle Moonstar and Thunderbird do. The most they hate is Chief Wahoo . . .

So! Yet another great X-Men installment. And another good one is coming up. Next up, "From the Ashes."

The New Mutants Graphic Novel, The New Mutants # 1-3, The Uncanny X-Men # 167

I won't be reading a whole lot outside of the main X-Men books, but these are quite integral to the overall X-Men story, so here they are. Xavier, while believing the X-Men dead, has decided at last to to rescue and train new Mutants. He does not intend this Mutants to be like the X-Men. These Mutants are going to be students, not super-heroes.

So enter Cannonball, Karma, Mirage, Sunspot, and Wolfsbane. A interesting bunch, each one diverse and able to stand on their own two feet, but as a whole, make up an interesting team.

After an encounter with Donald Pierce, the New Mutants then come face-to-face with Sentinels and a Brood. This Brood, as it turns out, has gone after the Professor. After all this, the X-Men come back and kick the New Mutants' ass.

There are some great moments here, including the New Mutants handling the Sentinels, the X-Men cracking down on the New Mutants, and the face-off with the Brood. Like I said, the characters each bring their own story to the table, allowing for a diverse cast. Even Xavier, in his usual (and getting old) routine of "the X-Men are dead AGAIN!" is fairly well developed. He gets to walk by the end of the story!

I have one major gripe, though. Why in the world does every Claremont has a Native American, they hate "whites?" I mean, maybe it was just the way they ALL WERE back then, but come on . . . I know three Native Americans and none of them hate us like Danielle Moonstar and Thunderbird do. The most they hate is Chief Wahoo . . .

So! Yet another great X-Men installment. And another good one is coming up. Next up, "From the Ashes."

The New Mutants Graphic Novel, The New Mutants # 1-3, The Uncanny X-Men # 167

I won't be reading a whole lot outside of the main X-Men books, but these are quite integral to the overall X-Men story, so here they are. Xavier, while believing the X-Men dead, has decided at last to to rescue and train new Mutants. He does not intend this Mutants to be like the X-Men. These Mutants are going to be students, not super-heroes.

So enter Cannonball, Karma, Mirage, Sunspot, and Wolfsbane. A interesting bunch, each one diverse and able to stand on their own two feet, but as a whole, make up an interesting team.

After an encounter with Donald Pierce, the New Mutants then come face-to-face with Sentinels and a Brood. This Brood, as it turns out, has gone after the Professor. After all this, the X-Men come back and kick the New Mutants' ass.

There are some great moments here, including the New Mutants handling the Sentinels, the X-Men cracking down on the New Mutants, and the face-off with the Brood. Like I said, the characters each bring their own story to the table, allowing for a diverse cast. Even Xavier, in his usual (and getting old) routine of "the X-Men are dead AGAIN!" is fairly well developed. He gets to walk by the end of the story!

I have one major gripe, though. Why in the world does every Claremont has a Native American, they hate "whites?" I mean, maybe it was just the way they ALL WERE back then, but come on . . . I know three Native Americans and none of them hate us like Danielle Moonstar and Thunderbird do. The most they hate is Chief Wahoo . . .

So! Yet another great X-Men installment. And another good one is coming up. Next up, "From the Ashes."

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Ambushed by Deathbird and the Brood, the X-Men and Lilandria are captured. Implanted with Brood eggs, the X-Men escape (thanks to Wolverine, who purged his egg) and must face hard decisions as to what to do with what could be their on-coming deaths.

Now we're talking. After an up-and-down era following the "Dark Phoenix Saga," we finally see the X-Men hit a stride once more.

The threat of the Brood is menacing and Claremont ties it into the Mutant factor very nicely, maintaining the story as being grounded to the X-Men's core concepts. Everyone's take on their fate is unique and allows for some great development. Nightcrawler prays, Storm takes off in despair, Carol Danvers (a guest with the X-Men) leaves in a rage, Colossus and Kitty grow closer (in a way that surprised me), and Wolverine is faced with the horrible choice as to whether or not to kill those that he has grown so close to.

In the meantime, Xavier and Corsair struggle with the possible loss of the X-Men. Xavier, for one, finds it hard to move on . . . until he learns that there are new mutants out there, needing him.

Great stuff.

Dave Cockrum and Paul Smith both add their own flavors to the story and succeed to create great visuals. We've got some amazing two-pages spreads and the transformations scenes are both horrifying and interesting at the same time.

It gets a little silly at the end, with the soul of an Acanti and all that, but it works in the context of the story. It's a surprisingly spiritual story wrapped within a sci-fi tale, told in a very personal way.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

What we have here is a mixed bag of X-Men stories. While some are pretty stong, others are weaker and barely hold my attention. Some of them are stand-alone or multi-part stories, so we'll be looking at them story-by-story.

Uncanny X-Men # 149-150 and The Vision and Scarlet Witch # 6 are pretty much the cream of the crop when it comes to what we have. 149 sets up the big Magneto story and has an appearance by Garrok. 150 is where Magneto launches a new attack on the governments of Earth, demanding they turn over the Earth to Mutantkind -- him, specifically. More and more layers of Magneto come undone as we are given insight to his motivations. By the time his plan is halted, Magneto is a changed man. This puts him on a quest and reunites him with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch -- who (we find out) are really his children! This is a milestone moment in the X-Men's history, as it will be addressed for many years to come and sits upon a foundation established since the early X-Men issues.

151 and 152 give us a weak point. The Hellfire Club's attack on the X-Men is contrived. The Storm/Emma switcheroo is a little too silly for me. While Kitty and Storm both get some development, the story fails on many levels.

153 ("Kitty's Fairy Tale") is one that I was surprised by. While the story that Kitty tells is cute and fun, the reaction by the overhearing X-Men is the best. Their reactions make the story and turn it from what could be a dud into something heart-warming.

154-157 tosses us into a Shi'ar arc. Deathbird, the Brood, and some Shi'ar rebels kidnap Lilandra while the Starjammers are given the blame. This forces some emotional meetings, especially with Cyclops finding out that Corsair is his long-thought-dead Dad. His sheer reluctance and intial anger is well-done, making the out-of-this-world situation relatable. The story is a little flimsy, most especially the conclusion, but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

Xavier ends up in the coma. Again. Ugh.

158 features the X-Men battling Rogue. It's interesting, but too short. I'd rather see more of this than what comes after it . . .

159 features Dracula, seeking to make Storm his equal. The art is nice. The story is fluff.

160 has Illyanna (Colossus' sister) spent a bunch of years in Limbo with Belasco. Why? I'm not sure, but I know it leads to other stories that people like. That's a rant for another time, though.

161 book-ends the Magneto story by showing Xavier and Magneto working together when they were younger. This would later be expounded on, but it's such a key point in the X-Men mythology.

Claremont holds the ship called 'X-Men' together for another batch of issues. However, while we've got some hits (like the Magneto and Shi'ar stories), these are a little overshadowed by some of the lamer X-Men stories. The art is on par, though (at times) Kitty looks a bit inconsistent.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

According to Storm, it's been a few months since Jean's death. A wise decision, if you ask me, to put some space between the emotional "Dark Phoenix Saga" and what we got here. I think it really allows for some air to breath into the X-Men again.

With the exception of 3 issues, I found this peroid of the X-Men to be rather mudane. Here's a quick run-down of what we have:

Uncanny # 139 and 140 handles Wolverine's position with Alpha Flight. Things get cleared up for him when he and Nightcrawler help the Canadians handle Windego. In the meantime, new recruit Kitty Pryde gets some screen time and some early development.

Uncanny # 141-142 takes us into the "Days of Future Past," which shows us a bleak future for Mutants and provides us with a hard-nosed look at what could be in store for the X-Men if they don't shape up. Needless to say, it's the best this part of the X-Men's saga has to offer.

Following this is Uncanny # 143, which has Kitty taking on a N'Gari on Christmas Eve. It's a little stupid and I couldn't help but be reminded of "Gremlins," but what we find is that this story (at its heart) is about Kitty's rite of passage into the world of the X-Men.

Unfortunately, it's also John Byrne's final issue on X-Men.

Uncanny # 144 has Cyclops and his current squeeze Lee Forrester facing off against the villain D'Spare (if I misspelled that, I don't care) with the help of Man-Thing. It's always cool to see Man-Thing. But it's not always cool to see him in a sub-par issue of X-Men.

Uncanny # 145 - 147 are fairly interesting, just because all of the previous X-Men (except for Mimic, Sunfire, and Thunderbird [psst! He's dead!]) show up and tussel with Doctor Doom and Arcade. What bogs the story down? The fact that it's later revealed that this isn't the real Doctor Doom and that it's pretty much the same Arcade story as before.

Finally, Uncanny X-Men # 148 has an appearance by Dazzler. Also, Caliban shows up for the first time. I've always liked Caliban. I've always been kinda neutral on Dazzler. And honestly? That's all there really is to this story.

Overall, there's the feeling that Claremont was trying to gather his thoughts on the future of the X-Men. There's some hits ("Days of Future Past," for one) and some misses (Doom/Arcade?). Cyclops gets a nice sub-plot and with the fact that its established time between his leaving the X-Men and now, it's kinda neat to see him sans X-Men. Kitty, likewise, gets some moments of glory as she learns the tricks and trades of the X-Men. Storm, too, gets some of that spotlight. Unfortunately, the rest of the team gets very little development.

Monday, March 13, 2006

I’ve read the Dark Phoenix Saga at least three times already, each time taking it as it is and enjoying, though never really accepting it as the best X-Men story ever. In many ways, this time around, it’s an exception.

The Dark Phoenix Saga is far more than just a story about a crazy, super-powerful Jean Grey, the Victorian-Era-wannabe Hellfire Club, and the Shi’ar wanting justice. It’s about the core of the X-Men’s beliefs being shaken. And, on top of all that, it’s a love story.

The X-Men, since their first issue, has been all about stopping “evil” Mutants. While these evil Mutants have ranged from Magneto to Vanisher to Sebastion Shaw, none of them have ever (or, really, will ever) strike them harder than Phoenix. Why? Because Phoenix is one of their own.

(Note: I know that later, down the line, that it will be revealed that Jean Grey and Phoenix are really not one and the same. I can not and will never fully accept that and I believe there is canonical evidence to support that. I plan on, down the line, doing a huge spotlight on Jean Grey/Phoenix, but for now, I’ll point something out. Combine with what we see in Classic X-Men # 9 [back-up story] and what Phoenix talks about in the Dark Phoenix Saga and you’ll see that two entities are in the same body. I’ll accept that Jean is in a new body and I’ll even accept that she has two personalities [kinda like a cosmic level version of multi-personality disorder] . . . but don’t try and convince me that this isn’t Jean).

Anyways . . .

Thanks to the Hellfire Club, Jean’s passion and security come unhinged, causing her to emerge as the Dark Phoenix. She tears through the X-Men, then goes off and feeds on sun, causing the death of 5 billion nearby aliens. The X-Men then defeat her, with the help of Professor X, but then the Shi’ar shows up. A duel of honor follows, Phoenix re-emerges, and she then kills herself before allowing her power to go out of control again.

Really, that’s a piss-poor summary. So many various aspects of the X-Men’s mythos comes into play. We see virtually every X-Man up at that point (save Mimic and Sunfire, though they do appear in a flashback). Scott and Jean’s relationship, obviously, plays the biggest part here. The X-Men go after two new Mutants – Dazzler and Kitty Pryde.

I could go on and on.

The storytelling here is top of the line. We’re given insight to each character as the story moves along. From Kitty and Colossus POV, we see the story through the eyes of more grounded, more realistic characters (due to their youth). Storm’s heart aches as she battles Jean, thinking of her as a sister, but also finds it hard to forgive her for the death of the D’Bari. Wolverine struggles with the decision whether or not to kill Jean.

Scott and Jean’s relationship here is the glue that holds the story together. As calamity and betrayal unfold around them, they do their best to hold together. A moment that really touched me was when they were fighting the Shi’ar and the pair hide in the alcove. Scott tells Jean that there was so much he wanted to tell her and she replies that she knew from his thoughts. I know it sounds dorky, but it was a really touching scene. Surprisingly enough, I found Scott and Jean’s relationship throughout the story the most realistic aspect, especially considering the way that most writers of that era (and even now, to an extent) tend to over-dramatize relationships.

In many ways, everything has been leading up to this story. From Uncanny X-Men # 1 on up, it feels a bit like it’s been building up to this tale. I think seeing it all as one large story made the Dark Phoenix Saga resonate with me a little more this time.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

During the first two issues of this small run, the X-Men go up against Arcade and his crazy Murderworld assassin amusement park. It’s just two issues, and nothing really to write home about. Spider-Man shows up and Scott dates a woman named Colleen Wig.

Meh.

After that, however, the Beast shows up at the mansion and the team is stunned to find out that Hank and Jean are alive. The X-Men then discover trouble on Muir Island and head off to face it. They battle with Moria MacTaggert’s son, Proteus aka Mutant X.

There’s not a whole lot to these save Colossus, who seems to be the backbone of these stories. He battles the X-Men as a brainwashed Commie in the Arcade story; then takes a life in the Proteus story. Scott and Logan get some good interaction. I’m disappointed in the Scott/Jean reunion, but I know there’s a lot more coming.

Ultimately, I’ll admit at some surprise here. I’m disappointed in these issues. There’s a lack of strong character development (save for small moments here and there and, as mentioned, Colossus) and an underwhelming amount of story.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

After returning home from the Shi’ar Empire, the X-Men face off against Vindicator, who has been sent by Canada’s Department H to bring back Wolverine. They are able to beat him away, only to be ambushed by Warhawk in their own home.

And then . . . we get down to business. While Professor X is vacationing with Lilandria, Mesmero captures the X-Men. When Beast goes to rescue them, however, they are all then re-captured by Magneto, who takes them to his Antarctic base. The X-Men engage Magneto, this time both the X-Men and Magneto more prepared for the other. The fight ends when the base is destroyed and Magneto retreats, weakened.

The X-Men are separated from Beast and Phoenix, both believing the other dead. As Phoenix and Beast head back to New York, the X-Men end up in the Savage Land. Once there, the X-Men fight off Zaladane and her forces by joining with Ka-Zar and Sauron. Saving the Savage Land, the X-Men get on perhaps the worst raft ever and try and sail to South America.

Meanwhile, Professor X is upset of the supposed loss of the X-Men and decides (after a flashback revealing his first encounter with a fellow Mutant, the Shadow King) to leave for the Shi’ar with Lilandria. The X-Men are rescued from their sinking raft by a Japanese freighter, which takes them to Japan. Once there, the X-Men meet up with Sunfire and Wolverine meets Mariko, who he is immediately smitten with.

They save Japan from Moses Magnum and are on their way back to New York when they are attacked by Vindicator again, this time with the entire Canadian super-hero team Alpha Flight with him. A battle ensues and eventually, Wolverine evades capture. Upon arriving at the mansion, the X-Men try to put their lives together.

The initial character and story plot points set down in the first couple of issues of this new X-Men team are elaborated on. Each character gets at least one moment of intensity, making it quite them unique and adding a certain dynamic feel with the rest of the team. These characters are superbly written, and their adventures across the globe are well done.

Honestly, I can’t find much to complain about here. In addition to great adventures seen here (especially the globe-spanning storyarc), there are good character moments and subplots. Wolverine’s interest in Jean; Scott’s lack of mourning; Jean’s life without the X-Men; Xavier distraught over the loss of his students; Colossus’ feelings of reluctance; and Storm’s response to finding out that her old home in Harlem now serves as a place for junkies to gather. All of these are layered on top of a grand and adventurous story, nearly epic in scope.

Between Claremont’s stories and Bryne’s art, we’ve got ourselves a great time in X-Men history.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

After a rocky start, the brand new X-Men team is out there kicking ass!

I'll be honest, the X-Men are rarely this great. With Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum running the show, the book is incredibly good. Very rarely did I want to stop reading - only when my eyelids were literally sagging over my eyes was I finally able to put it down.

It's interesting to see these characters in such early forms, when all of their flaws and character archs are so early. It's a lot like watching "Return of the Jedi" and then going back and watched "A New Hope." Luke's a newbie; Liea's stubborn and snotty; and Han Solo is a scoundrel. It's just like that. Wolverine gets in Scott's face and hits on Jean; Storm can't deal with her claustrophia at all; Banshee's unsure of himself, feeling his age; Colossus isn't sure the X-Men is right for him and longs for his family's farm.

These characters are in their prime and are interesting enough to maintain strong character moments despite the occassional weak point in the story.

The story (from Uncanny # 94 - 108) is very layered, starting with the death of one their own (Thunderbird), then bringing in the Sentinels, followed by Jean's transformation into the Phoenix, which leads to a huge arc featuring Eric the Red. Eric the Red, a code-name for an alein Shi'ar, is looking to kill both Professor X and the X-Men before Lilandria reaches them to enlist their help in stopping the mad Emperor D'Ken, who (in turn) seeks the power of the M'Kraan Crystal. Eric the Red's plan includes pitting Firelord, Juggernaut, Black Tom, a mind controlled Havoc and Polaris, and a fully restored Magneto against the muties. They eventually beat back these foes and move onto face D'Ken and meet the Starjammers. In the end, Phoenix saves the day (and John Bryne becomes artist!).

I'll tell you right now - 98% of all this is rather good. It's exciting, interesting and rather entertaining. A lot of great character development happens here, most esspecially for Cyclops. Storm, Wolverine and the others get some too.

But there are weak points. Two stories (Uncanny X-Men # 100 and 106) are almost identical to each other (X-Men versus X-Men). And Leprechauns show at some point. Besides that, though . . .

For good measure, I tossed four back-up stories from the Classic X-Men series. One features the funeral of Thunderbird. Another is a lead-up to Uncanny # 99, which has Jean getting ready for her date with Scott. The third is the Jean/Phoenix transformation/transition that takes place immediately after Uncanny # 100. The last one takes place after Magneto is transformed from a baby into a man again (that's an odd sentence). Each one adds deeper emotional layers to the stories being told here, Jean's date prep and Mangeto's flashback to his youth being the best. Magneto's, actually takes the cake, and transforms what once a dime-store super-villain into a flesh and blood character.

We're moving out of the early days of the new X-Men team and into the legendary Byrne/Claremont days, which I'm looking forward to. These stories were great and I can't wait to get into more.

Monday, March 06, 2006

When the original X-Men are captured by the living Mutant island Krakoa, Professor X and Cyclops recruit new Mutants Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Storm, Banshee, Thunderbird, and Sunfire. This new team interacts, doesn't quite get along, rescues the old X-Men, and goes off and doesn't get along with them.

Along with Giant-Sized X-Men # 1, I tossed in Giant-Sized X-Men # 3 (as it has a short story by Joss Whedon) and Classic X-Men # 1), which gives the new team and old team some down time. It's surprising to see just how well these all interconnect. We're given an adventurous and (with these issues) emotional look at all of these characters, both new and old.

The foundations for what happens in this issue were set-up by what has come before. The characters introduced here, of course, go on to make the franchise strong. It's cool to see them laid out, in their early incarnations. They each have their own little niches and even though I know where it's going (for the most part), it's still interesting.

Since this was a huge issue and a massive milestone, I decided this should have it's own little milestone. Also, I've noticed in X-Men lore, that every decade or so, there's a kinda clearing of the house so that the new writers can come in. I see the whole "Secret Empire" as the "clearing of the house" and "Giant-Sized" (plus) as the new beginning.

Well, well, well . . . here we are. X-Men comics that aren't really X-Men comics. I wasn't, unfortuantely, able to complete the entire "continunity gap," but I did fairly well and picked up the key books.

It's all pretty good, for the most part. The Sentinels come back, the Beast mutates into his gray-then-blue ape form, Spider-Man and Iceman (then Iceman and Human Torch) have an adventure, Magneto strikes twice, and Mutants begin to vanish.

The Beast stories are actually the worse, at they tend to drag in certain parts and are a little incoherent. Magneto (once more) tries to build himself a Mutant army. The Secret Empire story (which is really a subplot throughout all of these books save the last three) is pretty good and luckily covers the missing issues.

Beyond all of this, I'm ready for the new era of the X-Men. Giant-Sized X-Men # 1 (plus Classic X-Men # 1 and Giant-Sized X-Men # 3) is waiting in the wings. I'm assuming that the "secret mission" Professor Xavier sends the X-Men on is the one to Karoka.

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Released in 1999 and going until 2001, this was John Bryne's attempt at revealing what happened to the X-Men between Uncanny # 66 and Giant-Sized X-Men # 1. During this time, as I mentioned last time, the X-Men were cancelled and spent their time guest-staring in other peoples books from time to time. I'll get into that later.

I recall, when this series first started, enjoying this book, but only to an extent. However, as I made my way out of the Silver Age, I began to look forward to this series once more. Oh, how foolish I was . . .

(I'm not going to bother going into the politics of John Byrne. I'll say that right now.)

One word can describe this series for me: BORING. Esspecially when it hits the 'teens.

The series is hot and cold. There are some things about that are fun and interesting, like when Kraven hunts down the Beast; some of the new villains (Kreuger and Deluge) are actually kinda cool; Warren's Mom dying; and the whole Phoenix stuff was a nice touch.

BUT . . . Storm showing up? Xavier being a tight-ass? A tie-in with "The Lost Generation?" These ideas, along with story cliches (Iceman getting amnesia) and slow-moving, never-developing relationships (Iceman/Havok/Polaris) do nothing more than HURT the series rather than make it any good.

I couldn't help but wonder "how could this have been better?" I would have started it off the same because the first 6-8 issues are actually pretty good (except for the Storm stuff) - Magneto, the Savage Land, the Z'Nox, the Fantastic Four, etc. All great!

Personally, I would have sat down and plan it out so that the series fits into the missing Uncanny issues (67-93). Plan it like it would have been 28-part maxi-series! Actually give us some insight to the characters.

I can't help but think about what I would have done . . . the Atlantenian/Magneto invasion would be there by issue 12 . . . Beast leaving the X-Men after his encounter with Kraven . . . "Secret Empire" by issue 20 . . . and the legendary "Secret Mission" by 25-28.

But nope, Byrne chose a path that hurt the series and killed its potential. With the exception a few shining moments, most of "The Hidden Years" is swamped in a sea of cliches, slow-moving plots, and boring conflicts.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Here we are, the last of the original run of the X-Men. After issue 66, the series was cancelled and went into reprints for 32 issues. Imagine if the X-Men had just been left there, never revived or anything? Kinda funy to think about. After this, I'm going to pull out my backissues of X-Men: The Hidden Years, which cover a bit of the X-Men's history between 66 and Giant-Sized X-Men # 1. The rest is covered in various guest-appearances in Avengers, Captain America, Amazing Adventures, Marvel Team-Up, Hulk and a few others.

But we'll cover that later . . .

On with the show!

The X-Men, after splitting up, gather at the mansion once more. It's while at the mansion they learn that green-haired mutant Lorna Dane has been among those Mutants that Mesmero has attempted to gather for Magneto's new army. Magneto is then revealed to be Lorna's father, then (two issues later) is revealed, well, not to be. (This was all written by a man named Arnold Drake who, honestly, is quite possibly the 2nd worst X-Men writer ever - but I'll get to that later). After this ordeal, the X-Men face off with Blaastar of the Negative Zone in typical generic super-hero/super-villain fashion.

The X-Men then attend the college graduation of Alex Summers, Scott's younger brother. However, as they all start to celebrate, Alex is kidnapped by the Living Pharoah, whose Mutant cosmic-ray absorbing powers are tied into Alex's. The X-Men halt the Living Pharoah after he becomes the Living Monolith. But shortly after, the Sentinals strike once more!

The Sentinals gather Mutants from all over the Earth, including all of the villians we've seen except Changling and Magneto. Why not Magneto? Well, gang, because the Magneto that was working with Mesmero was none other than a robotic Magneto sent to build an army of Mutants! Yeah, I know, it's crazy.

The Sentinals are then taken down by Larry Trask (Bolivar Trask's son) when he reveals that he too is a Mutant. The X-Men succeed, but Alex is injured and generating too much power. They take him to Dr. Karl Lykos, who turns out to be a "non-mutant variant" and he turns into Sauron. The X-Men chase Sauron and he eventually vanishes into the Savage Land, presumably dead. The X-Men go after his body and then discover that Magneto (the real one) is creating Mutants, remeniscent to what he tried to do in Uncanny X-Men # 18.

Eventually Magneto is defeated once again and the X-Men head on out their temporary Manhatten H.Q., only to have to face down Japaneese Mutant Sunfire. Sunfire is defeated and all is understood about him and his rage issues. The X-Men head to Westchester and - shock of shocks - find that Charles Xavier is alive and well!

Professor X warns them of the threat of the alien Z'Nox. Together, the X-Men are able to stop the Z'Nox with them channeling Professor X's "mental waves," which are connected to much of the human and mutant populace. The Z'Nox are driven away, but in the aftermath, Professor X is in a coma and the only way to save him is to retrieve a device from Bruce Banner (aka the Hulk, duh). The do so, the Prof is saved, and the saga ends with a renewed dedication that the X-Men will always been out there, saving humanity from evil Mutants and itself. Quite the way to end a 66 issue run?

Wonder whatever happened to those whacky X-Men?

Heheh. Kidding.

The whole story is great, let's be honest. Really, after Richard Drake leaves with issue 54, the story gets better. Plus, Neal Adams comes on board with the returned Roy Thomas and - manoman - the X-Men get a huge up-grade. Neal Adams is (and I say this with as little hype as possible) a revolutionary force in comic book pop art. He breaks down a ton of barriers with his style. Couple that with perhaps Thomas' best work on X-Men we've seen so far and wham-bam, friend, you've got one heck of an X-Men epic.

The X-Men undergoes one major shake-up when (shortly after the destruction of Factor Three), the team must face down the underground dwelling monster Grotesk, a mission in which Professor X is seemingly killed (you read it here, folks, the first X-Men non-death death!). In the aftermath of his death, the X-Men face down Magneto, who is once more joined by Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

It's funny, looking at the X-Men/Avengers/Magneto story in light of the events to come (the revelation of Peitro and Wanda being Magneto's children; and esspecially House of M, in which this story oddly reinforces). This story, written masterfully by Roy Thomas, once more illustrates the early, layered Marvel Universe. It's the best that Thomas has to offer during this peroid of time with the X-Men.

Gregory Freidrich takes over as writer after the X-Men/Avengers story, and he's the one that splits the X-Men up. With Xavier gone, FBI agent Duncan orders the X-Men to disband, not only to keep themselves protected (now that Xavier is "dead," there's no one left to protect them), but also so they can spread out and help various people in different areas. The Juggernaut also appears, adding some emotional layers to the story of Xavier's (ahem) death.

Richard Drake steps in after that and serves us up some X-Men "solo" stories, one with Beast and Iceman facing off with Warlock - yet again. Cyclops and Marvel Girl, likewise, battle the Hive and Computo. Waste of pages, really. The first book of the run is likewise bad, simply because the X-Men fight Frankenstien (don't get me started).

Despite the very enjoyable Magneto story, this point in the X-Men's run is probably the worst so far. Even the characters lack good development and with the writer shuffle, there seems to be a bit of chaos at the end. The villains, as per usual, suck ass.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

This is an interesting story arc, here, as all of these issues deal with the threat of Factor Three. Factor Three spends most of their time in the background, capturing Xavier, brainwashing then capturing Banshee, releasing the Juggernaut, and sends a robotic spider-like sentry against the X-Men.

While Factor Three works in the background, the X-Men handle some "filler" villians, such as Dominius (loser), Super-Adaptiod (annoying), Warlock (wha-huh?), and Cobalt Man (Iron Man rip-off with an hypnotized guy in the armor). While these baddies suck up to high heaven, we're once more given some great characterization. Scott and Jean finally hook up, making my inner shipper go "Eeeee!" (I cheated and included two panels from a Classic X-Men # 44 which has their previously unseen first kiss). Iceman turns 18, Warren gets a new girlfriend, and the team has to make nice-nice with Mimic.

Mimic sticks around for just a bit, but not for too long. He's powers eventually die out, but that's okay. He's a jerk anyways. Banshee appears and comes off as a potent character.

There are all sorts of nice little tidbits throughout this portion of X-Men mythos. Xavier playing "brother's keeper" to Cain Marko; the aforementioned hook-up of Scott and Jean; and Warren listening to the Beatles. Two of the "filler" issues stand head and shoulders above the best simply because it has these little entertaining tidbits in it. One is a confrontation with Spider-Man, which is humorous in it of itself. Another is the X-Men's need to get to Europe, but have lack of money, fuel, or any other means to get there. They spend the entire issue trying to get their way to Europe and finally get it in a nice twist of luck.

The confrontation with Factor Three is pretty cool. The Mutant Master putting the X-Men on trial for crimes against Mutantkind is an interesting concept and the whole "ignite the Cold War" is (while dated) fairly compelling. There's some nice pay-off when the true Mutant Master is revealed and the Evil Mutants, the X-Men, and the former member of Factor Three (Changling, who becomes important later) takes down the Mutant Master.

At the end, the X-Men are re-soldified in their goals and even get new costumes! Yay!

These issues are far better than the previous ones, on account of a good storyarc, great characterization, and tremendous action!

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Well, this was a pretty interesting era for the X-Men. Roy Thomas and Werner Roth take over the book with issue 20, and we're suddenly tossed into a time in where the villians are awful, but the characterization is top-notch.

The threats the X-Men face are not Mutant at all. Lucifer (again), Count Nefaria (a name like that and he has to be evil), El Tigre (ugh), Colosso (a robot), and the Locust (um . . . yeah) all line-up to face off with the X-Men in what are pretty much lame attempts at evil-ness. None of them succeded, though technically, Colosso was just a big robot in the Danger Room. Each one is dispatched with ease.

Despite the C-List baddies, the X-Men themselves get a fair share of character development. We begin to understand the X-Men as more than just Mutant super-heroes. Bobby and Hank start dating Zelda (a waitress) and Vera (a libraian) whilst they hit the town, often headed to the cafe called Coffee-A-Go-Go, located in Greenwhich Village. Jean starts school in New York and goes to part-time status with the X-Men, with both Warren and Scott pursuing her. Even Xavier deals with his handicap in a unique (if not stupid) way.

Issues 19 and 28 both deal with the kinda-sorta-Mutant called Mimic, who has the powers to mimic those of any Mutant he's around. He starts off as quite the menance for the X-Men, but eventually joins in their ranks when the X-Men find themselves knocked down a few pegs.

The character interactions are at top, with each individual character developing nicely. Xavier is struck with moments of angst at not being able to walk. Scott has a deep rivalry and jealously with Warren. Jean is interacting with normal students and humans. Hank finds dating difficult and Vera to be quite the challenge. Mimic (Calvin Rankin) is having problems dealing with the fact that his powers depend on everyone elses. And Bobby is trying hard to balance super-heroics and a normal life.

All in all, this is an interesting if not somewhat low time for the X-Men. While the super-hero aspect of the story is weak, the characterization is strong. I wish more time had been spent on giving us more time with the characters rather than with these lame threats.